Orlando Bloom's Awkward Love Scene

Shy is the name of Orlando Bloom's character in the gritty thriller Haven, and it's also a fair description of the actor.

British-born Bloom, 29, talked to PEOPLE about his embarrassment doing love scenes, keeping his own love life private – and Marlon "Hottie" Brando.

Your costar Zoe Saldana tells us that kissing you was 'gross.' How could she?I hated kissing Zoe too! I was like, "Take your tongue out of my mouth, please. Your boyfriend is standing right there." Most people think kissing beautiful costars must be great. But it's always awkward, man.

Haven, about doomed teenage love on Grand Cayman, is darker than your big blockbusters. Did that appeal to you?Some people have said it's too hard-core for teenage audiences. But it deals with (real) issues. You go on vacation, sit by the pool, go to the bar. . . . In this movie you get to see the underbelly of . . . the Cayman Islands.

Fair enough. Can you give us an update on Pirates of the Caribbean?We're in the middle of part 3. I've loved working on Pirates, but I'm looking forward to new projects. When you do a movie that's so successful, people think that's all you've done. "Oh, he's that pirate guy!"

Or 'that heartthrob guy?' That doesn't bother me. Name any of my heroes, and they were hotties. Brando was a pinup, so was James Dean, Paul Newman. I'm not going to (rest) on my "teen hottie" laurels. I have aspirations to do more than that. (Still) they're very loyal fans, those teenage girls! I definitely appreciate them.